‘Go Hard or Go Home’: Inside Tammi Reiss’ Vision for Florida
Tammi Reiss transformed Rhode Island into a conference champion and NCAA Tournament team. Now she will try to do the same thing at Florida.
Florida women’s basketball has found its next coach. The University of Florida announced Monday that Reiss will be the 12th head coach in program history. She replaces Kelly Rae Finley, who was fired on March 9 after the Gators missed the NCAA tournament for four straight seasons. Reiss agreed to a five-year contract worth more than $900,000 annually.
“I really came here to leave a mark and leave a legacy,” Reiss said at her introductory press conference. “I hope I can say I left my mark, I brought SEC conference championships and we grabbed that national championship.”
Reiss, 55, spent seven seasons rebuilding the Rhode Island program. She finished with a 138–73 record and won two Atlantic 10 regular season titles and the conference tournament championship this season, which sent the Rams to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1996.
Rhode Island had just one winning season in the 15 years before Reiss arrived, but the program quickly improved under her leadership. The Rams tripled their average attendance and became one of the top programs in the A-10. Reiss garnered A-10 Coach of the Year honors three times.
Florida was drawn to Reiss’ reputation as a program builder.
“I am a builder,” Reiss said. “I don’t like to inherit. I like to build.”
Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin said Reiss distinguished herself during the coaching search because of her leadership and competitive drive.
“Tammi Reiss is a proven winner and an outstanding leader whose experience as both a player and coach stood out throughout this process,” Stricklin said. “She brings tremendous enthusiasm, an unbelievable competitive spirit and a relentless work ethic that will resonate with our student-athletes and our entire program.”
Reiss has spent decades in basketball at nearly every level. She was a three-time All-American at Virginia, where she played alongside current South Carolina head coach and future Hall of Famer Dawn Staley. Reiss helped lead the Cavaliers to three Final Four appearances and a national championship game.
After college, she was selected fifth overall in the first ever WNBA Draft and played professionally for the Utah Starzz. She began her coaching career at UVA from 1993 to 1996 before coaching in the WNBA with the Starzz and San Antonio Silver Stars from 2001 to 2003.
Reiss returned to college basketball as an assistant coach at San Diego State from 2011 to 2013 and Cal State Fullerton from 2013 to 2015. She moved to Syracuse to coach from 2015 to 2019 and helped lead the Orange to four NCAA Tournament appearances and the 2016 national championship game. She became the head coach at Rhode Island in 2019.
Reiss’ former roommate Staley, now one of the most successful coaches in women’s basketball, said Reiss built a culture at URI that led to the program’s rise.
“Over the past seven seasons at Rhode Island, she’s recruited the right players, developed them and built a culture that reflects who she is: disciplined, competitive and committed,” Staley said. “I know she’s going to make a strong impact at Florida.”
Reiss said Florida offered everything she was looking for.
“This university checks every box for me both personally and professionally,” Reiss said. “I want to compete against the best and the SEC is the best. It is simply the best in women’s basketball.”
Reiss said she would not have taken the job without being convinced of Florida’s commitment to investing more in the women’s basketball program. Stricklin has emphasized the university’s dedication to improving the program moving forward.
Florida women’s basketball is the only program at the university that has never won a conference championship. The Gators also have never reached a Final Four. Reiss now plans to try to change that.
One of Reiss’ first challenges will be building the roster for next season. First-team All-SEC guard Liv McGill attended Reiss’ introductory press conference, and her decision on whether to remain at Florida will be one of the biggest storylines moving forward. At this point, Reiss’ plans for the roster remain unclear.
She could emphasize retaining current Florida players, bringing players from Rhode Island with her or adding talent through the transfer portal and recruiting. URI sophomore Palmire Mbu, who averaged 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks per game, entered the transfer portal following Reiss’ departure, and might consider following Reiss to Gainesville.
Reiss highlighted building culture as the first step for her program.
“People throw that word around a lot, culture,” Reiss said. “But it’s how I’ve built everything I’ve ever achieved. We will have a winning culture. That is the foundation. Everything comes after that.”
She added that effort and competitiveness will define her teams.
“The highest compliment anyone can give me as we walk off the court is, ‘Damn, your team plays hard,’” Reiss said.
Reiss also emphasized the importance of connecting with the community and building a fan base, something the New York native helped grow at Rhode Island.
“Women’s basketball is about connections,” she said. “It’s about building relationships and making fans feel like they are part of your family.”
Reiss brings a unique background to Gainesville beyond coaching. She has acted in numerous Hollywood movies and television shows and has also worked as a broadcaster, public speaker, business owner and personal trainer during her career, including running a nightclub for a decade in Salt Lake City. She also served as a coach with USA Basketball’s 3×3 Olympic team. Her path to becoming an SEC head coach has been anything but traditional.
Her goal at Florida, however, is clear: build a program that can compete for championships.
“If you know me, this is me,” Reiss said. “Go hard or go home.”
Category: College Basketball, Gators Women's Basketball
